February 23, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Elena Gaona
202-907-9717
Catholic Climate Covenant Young Adult Climate Leaders to Represent Central U.S./Canada at University Synodal Event with Pope Francis Tomorrow
Climate and migration to be discussed at virtual Loyola University event at Noon Central
Washington, DC – Catholic Climate Covenant is honored to announce the Covenant’s social media manager Emily Burke, and Covenant’s advocacy intern Henry Glynn, will be speaking directly with Pope Francis at the virtual synod event of college students with Pope Francis tomorrow, February 24th at Noon Central, Building Bridges North-South: A Synodal Encounter Between Pope Francis and University Students, hosted by Loyola University Chicago.
They will speak for a few minutes during the hour-long event on the issue of migration, climate change, young people, and the Church’s responsibility in helping mitigate this crisis, and were elected by the other members of their working group to represent the Central U.S./Canada in the hemisphere-wide conversation with the Pope on these issues.
Emily is a recent alumna of Creighton University and a current doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the joint Sociology and Community and Environmental Sociology Program. She works part-time at Catholic Climate Covenant as the social media manager. Henry is a junior at Creighton University majoring in Political Science and Theology and is currently interning at Catholic Climate Covenant. After being climate leaders at Creighton University, Henry and Emily were invited to represent Creighton in this synodal process with other U.S. college students.
“Feeling incredibly honored to help plan for a meeting with the Pope, we virtually encountered a group of 20 other students in our region,” Henry said. “Over the course of three meetings facilitated by Loyola, we discerned which of our projects to bring to Pope Francis. In an open process of genuinely listening to one another and our hopes for the conversation, the group came to consensus around the important issue of climate change.”
“A root cause of global migration and an issue many young people think of every single day, climate change takes ultimate priority in caring for not only our common home but also our sisters and brothers of all kinds,” Henry continued. “Please pray for us as we prepare for this historic meeting.”
“It’s been a gift to be a part of this working group of young Catholics in our region,” Emily said. “We’ve shared experiences, priorities, and anxieties related to the issue of migration and its root causes. These conversations aren’t easy, of course, but they’re important. Henry and I are honored to represent the conversations of this group to Pope Francis and look forward to inviting him, and everyone watching, to support our efforts as young people to work for a hope-filled future.”
To learn more about the event, visit https://www.luc.edu/popefrancis/, where the public can register to watch.
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